


The Despair of a Thousand Autumns

by Instrumentalist



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, English Names, Gen, Super Dangan Ronpa 2 Spoilers, Ultimate Despair Nanami Chiaki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-22
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-10-20 12:16:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10662399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Instrumentalist/pseuds/Instrumentalist
Summary: It was almost pitifully easy for Despair to win control of the world with such a powerful group spearheading the attack. Even those Ultimates who were attempting to beat back the inevitable tide were failing miserably. There had to be some sort of handicap to make things interesting again, she decided. So she sent her second-in-command to assemble her 14 disciples, and started puzzling how best to create a new game...





	The Despair of a Thousand Autumns

**Author's Note:**

> All characters are referred to with English translation of their names, which are as follows:  
> Chiaki: **Thousand Autumns** Kamukura: **Seat of the Gods** Kuzuryuu: **Nine-Headed Dragon** Mahiru: **True Noon**  
>  Mikan: **Mandarin** Nagito: **Calm Below the Dipper** Gundham: **Snake-Eye Dream** Peko: **Old Border**  
>  Teruteru: **Radiance Radiance** Nekomaru: **Round Cat** Akane: **Red Noise** Sonia: **Wisdom** Kazuichi: **Peaceful One**  
>  Hiyoko: **Child Who Brings Forth Day** Ibuki: **Merely Breathing** Byakuya: **White Night**

She should have known better than to anger the Nine-Headed Dragon, but she had done it anyway. The results had been just as she'd feared: his red aura flared, his voice became inhumanly deep, and he seemed to tower over her as he advanced, the windows of the room rattling as he roared,

**_"I've told you a thousand times, Mandarin of the Sin Trees, you do not fuck with the Clan of Nine-Headed Dragons! Without us, this empire would be a twelfth of its size!"_ **

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she sobbed, arms shielding her face. He stomped the ground, and she leaped back fearfully, head hitting the wall with a painful  _crack._

**_"If you say that my influence in our group is anything less than paramount again, I'll have your tongue ripped out of your mouth and make you wear it on a necklace made of your own_ _skin!"_ **

"I won't, I promise, I promise!" she shrieked. "Please forgive me!"

He pulled her arms away from her face and pinned them against the wall. She could swear he was standing taller than her right now.  _ **"You better not fucking forget this, you bastard. I sure as hell won't."**_

"I promise, I pro-o-mise!"

He released her wrists, and just as he started cooling down, the door on the other side of the room opened, and she felt her blood chill as  _he_ entered. "Mandarin of the Sin Trees. Winter Prince of the Nine-Headed Dragons," he said cooly. "There is a summons from the main chambers."

Nine-Headed Dragon's aura all but disappeared at those words. "Thousand Autumns wants to see us? What's up?"

"I do not know," Seat of the Gods said, looking down the hall. "All fourteen disciples have been requested to meet."

"Shit. All fourteen?" Nine-Headed Dragon ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, uh, we'll head on down there, I guess."

"I would," Seat of the Gods said, and vanished down the hall.

"A-All fourteen?" Mandarin whimpered. "W-What does she want?"

"Fuck if I know," Nine-Headed Dragon said. "But whatever it is, it's probably really important. We should get going."

* * *

When they entered the main chambers, a few others were already there, standing idly in a loose circle. Thousand Autumns herself was there, lounging sideways in her ornate golden chair, staring at the gaming console she was levitating over herself. "Hey, uh... good evening, Thousand Autumns," Nine-Headed Dragon said awkwardly. She didn't reply. He looked around at the others. "Has she said anything yet?"

"Nothing yet," True Noon replied. "As usual."

"Whether she's absorbed in her game or she's just making us wait is unknown," Wisdom replied, reaching up to twirl a lock of hair she'd forgotten was no longer there. "Either way, it can't be long now."

"And nobody knows what this is about?" Nine-Headed Dragon asked.

"Nope," True Noon shook her head. "Everyone's in the dark."

"Well, what did she say the last time we were  _all_ called down here?" Peaceful One asked rhetorically. "That was when the Future Foundation was at the height of its power, and Thousand Autumns told us that ending them was the number-one goal. So I'm gonna put my bet on her having another edict or somethin'."

"An edict?" Calm Below the Dipper echoed as he padded into the room. "What sort of an edict?"

"I don't know!" Peaceful One exclaimed. "I'm just guessin'!"

"Well, Peaceful One is right on one count, this hasn't happened in ages," True Noon said, fiddling with the collar of her shirt. "So whatever it is..."

An uncomfortable silence filled the room, broken only by the sound effects emitting from the floating console and the footsteps of the other disciples entering the chamber. Nobody else had the courage to ask what the purpose of the gathering was, and so they merely stood, glancing warily at Thousand Autumns and each other, in a sort of vague attempt to communicate with only their body language and facial expressions. After this went on for five minutes or so, Wisdom started signing to herself, and Mandarin signed back.

_What do you suppose she has to say?_ Wisdom asked.

_I wish I knew. Do you think she's mad at us?_

_I do not think that's it. Peaceful One is correct, this hasn't happened in a while, it must be something regarding group strategy._

_What needs changing? We've all but won at this point. The only resistance left is the Future Foundation._

Wisdom thought about that for a moment.  _Perhaps she means to plan a final assault. Some sort of public display of the Future Foundation's destruction._

_That makes sense._

_You seem nervous. More so than usual._

_She's just sitting there. It's like she hasn't even noticed us._

_I'm sure she has. She's simply electing to wait for everyone before she acknowledges us. You also remember that's... how she's been. Since we started._

_It's unsettling. Maybe it's despairful for her, but I don't like it._

_I understand. But we cannot judge anyone's despair as better or worse than our own._

_I know._

A loud snap made everyone jump—everyone except Thousand Autumns, that is. "Sorry!" Peaceful One mouthed, his right hand crackling with electricity.

_Much like we cannot judge anyone's coping methods,_ Wisdom continued, glaring at him briefly.  _However much we may wish to do so._

Mandarin bit her lip and nodded. She understood. That was one of the things she loved most about despair: when everyone embraces the darkness inside their hearts, a sort of harmony emerges out of it. She'd always hated the way it was before, when she couldn't find joy in the misfortune that befell her so frequently. But now, in the grips of despair, the world seemed brighter, more colourful and vivid, and every experience that brought despair also brought with it a euphoria nobody could describe. That was why they had to spread it: who wouldn't want to share that with the world?  _Everyone_ deserved to feel this good, whether they knew it or not. She hadn't known it before, and now she couldn't get enough. The world would see eye-to-eye with them soon, she knew.

Someone started snapping their fingers to an unheard beat. Mandarin broke out of her reverie and looked around for the source of the noise. It was Merely Breathing, who was looking down sullenly at the ground and tapping her foot on alternating beats with the snaps. A few of the others were scowling at her for disturbing the quiet, but she didn't notice. Someone cleared their throat pointedly. She continued with her snapping. White Night grabbed her shoulder. She stopped snapping.

Then, Thousand Autumns lifted an arm, grabbing the console out of the air, and flung it across the room. "Everybody's here?" she asked, not looking away from the spot previously occupied by the console.

They all watched the console sail over their heads, but instead of hitting the ground, it landed in the lazily outstretched hand of Seat of the Gods. "All 14 disciples are assembled, as requested."

"Good." Thousand Autumns sighed, closing her eyes. "...It's been a while, everyone. How long?"

Everybody looked at each other in confusion. "Um... it's been about a couple years," Round Cat answered.

"I know  _about_  how long it's been," she snapped. "I asked  _how long?"_

"Two years, one month, thirteen days," White Night responded.

"Hm. That's quite a long time to be apart." She clasped her hands together over her chest. "What has been accomplished in two years, one month, and thirteen days?"

"W-Well, we've nearly achieved what we set out to do," True Noon said. "It won't be much longer before Ultimate Despair's won. All we have to do is—"

"Two years, one month, and thirteen days since we last saw each other, and we've  _nearly_ reached our goal?" Thousand Autumns interrupted. "That's sad to hear. If I recall correctly, you estimated at our last gathering that it would only take until three months ago, if things went  _poorly."_

"Th-That's not what I said—!" True Noon exclaimed.

"And yet here we are, two years, one month, and thirteen days later,  _still_ unsuccessful," Thousand Autumns said. "I don't understand how someone as supposedly intelligent as you can butcher your own timeline so badly."

"This was my doing," Seat of the Gods interjected. "You had previously requested that certain advantages be given to the opposing forces."

Thousand Autumns looked down for the first time, her gaze burning directly into his. "I requested  _advantages,_ not  _game-changers._ Maybe one day you'll understand that not everything has to be done to the Ultimate extent, but apparently this isn't that day."

"I merely followed your orders," he said.

"As always," she said, curling her lip as she looked away. "That's all you're ever good for, it seems,  _following_ _orders."_ She took a deep breath. "So. We're  _nearly_ finished. What remains to be done?"

"We need only destroy the Future Foundation," Wisdom answered. "They've been reduced to a fraction of their former strength, so it will not require very much time or effort to see their destruction through."

"We  _still_ haven't ended the Future Foundation?" Thousand Autumns sighed. "Gods above, I didn't realise my disciples were so  _weak._ Is it stupidity? Cowardice? Both? You would make our dearly departed leader weep with frustration."

Everybody averted their eyes again at the mention of their deceased leader. The one before Thousand Autumns. Indeed, what would she say to them, they all wondered? If Thousand Autumns was so displeased, they could only imagine how  _she_ would've reacted to this news.

"With all this in mind, seeing as your performance since we last gathered here has been lackluster at best and abysmal at worst," Thousand Autumns continued, "I'd like to announce a change in tactic."

Everybody was looking at her again. "What sort of a change in tactic?" Nine-Headed Dragon asked.

"The sort that tells you how disappointed I am in you all," Thousand Autumns said with a scowl. "Give me an estimate, how often would you say you use your abilities in your work?  _All_ of you. Starting with you, Mandarin."

"Eek!" Mandarin jumped, hands instinctively flying up to cover her face. "U-Um, I'm not sure... p-pretty often?"

Thousand Autumns let out an exasperated, drawn-out sigh. "How about on a scale of one to ten? 'Pretty often' means nothing to me."

"Um... 7? I'm sorry!"

"Stop apologising," Thousand Autumns said. "Snake-Eye Dream?"

Silently, Snake-Eye Dream signed  _9._ "He says nine," True Noon said.

"I could  _see_ that, True Noon," Thousand Autumns snapped, even though he was clearly well outside of her peripheral vision. "Child Who Brings Forth Day?"

"I'd say 8."

"White Night?"

"10. Out of necessity."

"Nothing is necessary except food, water, and shelter. Winter Prince?"

Nine-Headed Dragon scowled at the use of his given name. "7."

"Merely Breathing?"

"She says 6."

"True Noon?"

"7."

"Calm Below the Dipper?"

"10, but that's not really something I—"

"I don't care. Red Noise?"

"7, I guess?"

"Round Cat?"

"I'll go for 5."

"Peaceful One?"

"8."

"Wisdom?"

"8 as well."

Thousand Autumns pressed a hand over her eyes. "My gods, nobody's given me a number below 5. Old Border?"

"7."

"Radiance Radiance?"

"Eh, 5, I'd say..."

Thousand Autumns shook her head. "Gods above, it's worse than I thought. Nobody here does anything they do without relying on their abilities at least _half_ of the time? Looks like I've let you run amok for too long."

"So what do you want us to do?" Nine-Headed Dragon asked.

"As I  _already said,_ Winter Prince, I'm announcing a change in tactic that is apparently long overdue," she said. "Since you all seem to rely on your abilities so heavily to spread despair, and you haven't accomplished the goal you set out to accomplish at our last gathering, you obviously don't need them. So starting the minute you leave this chamber, you are no longer allowed to use them."

The circle burst out in protest.

"What?!" Radiance Radiance exclaimed. "That's takin' it a little far, isn't it?!"

"It's not like we're  _only_ using our powers out there!" True Noon said indignantly.

"Some of us don't have a very good handle on our abilities!" Calm Below the Dipper said.

"Using our abilities is what got us this far!" Nine-Headed Dragon said.

"You say that as though it's something to be proud of," Thousand Autumns interrupted, silencing them all with a sharp flick of her hand. They continued trying to speak, but their voices failed to produce any sound. "If this is as far as you've gotten, you obviously need practice getting by without them. So, starting from the moment you leave the chamber, you are no longer allowed to use your abilities. You understand the consequences if you disobey me. Now go. I expect better results from  _all_ of you this time."

She flicked her hand again, and they all suddenly felt strongly compelled to leave the chamber without delay. Some of them started to cry, others were swearing under their breath, and a few were completely silent as they exited. Soon only Thousand Autumns and Seat of the Gods remained.

"They'll adapt," he said, glancing at the console he was holding. "Although their timeline will be greatly affected by this."

"Good," she said, yanking the console out of his hand from her chair. "Easy victory isn't nearly as enjoyable."

"They still fail to understand you," he continued. "Your cruelty does not bring them despair. It only confuses them."

"And why would I care about them?" she asked. "They're nothing to me. My life would be no worse without them."

"Or myself, I assume," he droned. "Good evening."

"For all your talk of finding us predictable, you're awfully predictable yourself," she shot at him as he left the chamber.

"I'm well aware, Thousand Autumns of the Seven Seas."


End file.
